Ahno is Quacked

I Saw That!!! The First Three Months of Blogging

2007-01-29T14:24:00.000-05:00

This is your chance to visit, or revisit, the Ahno's choicest moments from her blog, "I Saw That!!!" which is featured on the Virginian Pilot web site. We welcome you to peruse the archive below.

January:

Evil Gringos Strike Again...Yawn. 01/29/2007
The Groundhog Menace 01/29/2007
Don't Show Me The Newspaper 01/28/2007
Scroungy-Lookin’ Mutts 01/28/2007
Five More Days! Tool Up Now! 01/28/2007
So You Want To Be A Veterinarian? 01/28/2007
Quit That!!! 01/27/2007
My New Scanner 01/26/2007
Khom Loi Lanterns 01/26/2007
Green, Green Grass Of Home 01/26/2007
Hillary, Get A Chihuahua! 01/25/2007
Paybacks, PETA 01/25/2007
The Neuter Scooter 01/24/2007
Fleas 01/24/2007
Plan B, Please. 01/24/2007
An SOU Address We Won’t Hear 01/23/2007
Trash 01/23/2007
Visual Sominex 01/22/2007
The Willing Widget 01/22/2007
Pay That Judge! 01/22/2007
Hurray For The Balding "Ballerinos" 01/22/2007
The “Fat Fairy”’s Wand? 01/21/2007
An "Inhuman" Candidate 01/21/2007
Go To Jail? 01/21/2007
Smash And Run 01/20/2007
Christian Muslims 01/20/2007
At The Corner Store 01/19/2007
Red, White, And Blue Springtime 01/19/2007
Car Archaeology 01/19/2007
Could It Happen Here? 01/19/2007
"Sisters!" 01/19/2007
Nothing Happened 01/18/2007
Skills 01/18/2007
Yay For Quantity! 01/18/2007
I’ve Got To Start Paying Attention 01/17/2007
What's Cuter Than A Chihuahua? 01/17/2007
Where Would I Draw The Line? 01/17/2007
Secret Songs 01/17/2007
Chillin'.... Globally. 01/17/2007
Looking For A Brass Lamp 01/16/2007
Nascar Not Spoken Here 01/16/2007
TV, The Ahno Report 01/16/2007
Home Made Winter Sports Equipment 01/16/2007
Without The Cheese 01/15/2007
The Speech 01/14/2007
You Can 01/14/2007
Beginning. Again. 01/14/2007
Education, It's Not Just For Dogs 01/13/2007
$$$ Confusion 01/13/2007
Insane, Superstitious Apologies 01/13/2007
Support The Troops? 01/12/2007
Happy Birthday 01/12/2007
Hello, Walmart, Surprise Me. 01/12/2007
Blogosaurus Rex 01/12/2007
Secret Garbage Guy 01/11/2007
Recall Riddick? 01/11/2007
No Exotic Pets 01/11/2007
Winner: The Covetted Rude Librarian Award! 01/10/2007
Stoner Dogs? 01/10/2007
Bang! Boom! Yawn. 01/10/2007
"Catholics Gone Wild?" 01/09/2007
No Arthur For Me 01/09/2007
Cuttin' Hair In The Piano Bar 01/09/2007
A Different Experience 01/08/2007
Crying On The Escalator 01/08/2007
How To Become A Bestselling Novelist 01/08/2007
Ooooh, Drool. Seed Catalog. Yes, My Master. 01/07/2007
Class 01/07/2007
Little Baghdad 01/07/2007
Nesting Birds 01/07/2007
Excuse Me While I Rant And Rave A Bit 01/06/2007
How Many Chihuahuas Is Too Many? 01/06/2007
About That Old Bomb Shelter In The Basement… 01/06/2007
Keeping An Eye On Grandma 01/05/2007
Haircuts 01/05/2007
Awful Things About Being Homeless 01/04/2007
All I Wanted For Christmas Was A New Garbage Can, But That Was Too Much To Ask. 01/04/2007
Another Kaboom 01/03/2007
In A Position To Criticize? 01/02/2007
Yeehaw. 2007. 01/02/2007
Between His Ears 01/02/2007
I Resolve To… 01/01/2007

December:

The South. It Is What It Is. 12/31/2006
A Vision In Vestments 12/31/2006
A Resume Is Only As Good As The Person Behind It. 12/30/2006
“Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these…” 12/30/2006
Unbelievable! 12/29/2006
Bursting Into Life/ Preparing To Die 12/29/2006
Whoopeeeeee! 12/28/2006
Happy Birthday, Me 12/28/2006
Anger For Christmas 12/27/2006
Too Much Self-control 12/27/2006
A Tradition Is Whatever You Do At Least Twice 12/26/2006
They’re Thinking 12/26/2006
The Racket On The Roof 12/25/2006
Christmas Eve, Already 12/24/2006
Icicles On My Eyelashes 12/24/2006
A New Digital Camera 12/23/2006
Unhallowed History 12/23/2006
Rain On The Decorations 12/22/2006
Music Overhead 12/22/2006
A New And Far Lovelier Chihuahua 12/22/2006
An Invitation 12/21/2006
At Last 12/21/2006
Exit, Stage Left 12/20/2006
Yay For El Nino! 12/20/2006
George Washington Would Be Surprised 12/19/2006
The Homeowner's Association Would Like To Thank You For...
12/19/2006
Culture War 12/19/2006
Buy a friend an expensively ripped-up jacket.... 12/19/2006
Keeping The Homeland Safe From Methane 12/16/2006
The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread 12/16/2006
Florida….UGH! 12/15/2006
Hello, Big Brother 12/15/2006
Whoopee, Let’s Sacrifice A Camel 12/14/2006
Feel Free To Be Bad 12/14/2006
Baffled Rage 12/14/2006
Sad 12/14/2006
Nearly Got Killed 12/13/2006
A Really Good Thank You 12/13/2006
The Dreaded Snake In The Toilet…Or All Over The House 12/13/2006
Hitting Ebeneezer Scrooge In His Wallet 12/12/2006
Don’t Tell Santa, But Porque Choppe’s Naughty 12/12/2006
Have Yourself A Merry Little Busted Car Window 12/12/2006
Evil Cows? 12/11/2006
A Gem 12/10/2006
Oh, Go Ahead! 12/10/2006
Don’t Be A Jerk; Go To Work 12/09/2006
Oh, Christmas Tree 12/09/2006
Where’s My Santa Hat? 12/08/2006
Creative Sentencing 12/08/2006
Police, hurry up. Crazy people, shut up. Dog and cat, behave. 12/08/2006
I’m Rich! 12/07/2006
Porque Choppe Versus Hoity…Chapter 1 12/07/2006
Did You Put Up The Lights Yet? 12/06/2006
I admit it. Today I'm cold. 12/06/2006
A Gas Fireplace Never Quits In July 12/06/2006
Christmas Anxiety 12/05/2006
Wrotten Wreath 12/05/2006
My Not-Getting-A-Ticket Rap 12/04/2006
Be Embarrassed. Be Very Ashamed. 12/04/2006
Holiday Funeral 12/04/2006
More Craziness 12/03/2006
The Supreme Court Must Have Run Out Of Something To Do 12/03/2006
People Who Still Smoke 12/02/2006
Welcome, Pests 12/02/2006
Don’t Stop The War On Drugs….Yet 12/02/2006
Felicitations 12/01/2006
Spoiled Child? Probably Not. 12/01/2006

November:

"Go home, Junior! Go now!" 11/30/2006
Life In The Slow Lane 11/30/2006
Teacher’s Christmas Gift 11/30/2006
Boring The Dog 11/29/2006
Knocking Over A Fast Food Joint. 11/28/2006
Backlash Served Here 11/28/2006
“Deck the tub with bow-wow bubbles, falalalalalalalala.” 11/27/2006
The Chihuahua Beat Down 11/27/2006
Moloch, 6; Civilization, 0 11/26/2006
No Can Do 11/26/2006
Selling Cheap 11/26/2006
Watch Your Mouth 11/25/2006
Choose a Chihuahua 11/25/2006
Read The Whole Recipe 11/24/2006
The Day After The Day Before 11/24/2006
Not At The Table This Year 11/23/2006
The Year We Hosted Thanksgiving Dinner 11/23/2006
Treating People Like Rats 11/22/2006
Chihuahuasaurus Rex 11/21/2006
No Thanks 11/21/2006
Bring On The Festivity 11/21/2006
Don’t Be A Cannibal. That’s Bad. 11/20/2006
What!!!?! Bring Back The Draft? 11/20/2006
He's Done 11/20/2006
Our Taxes At Work…Somewhere. 11/20/2006
You May Have My Share Of The Prunes 11/19/2006
Re. November 23 11/19/2006
No Burqas In Public 11/19/2006
Off The Leash, Here 11/19/2006
It’s My Business When… 11/18/2006
Two things To Be Said For Using Your Head 11/17/2006
At The Mall 11/17/2006
Shut The Door; It’s Only A Wino? 11/17/2006
Not Yet Farming The Street 11/17/2006
Like A Chicken With Its Head Chopped Off 11/16/2006
Flowers In WInter 11/16/2006
Time To Go Out And Shoot Bambi 11/16/2006
Ahno Economic Theory 11/16/2006
I Went To War On Election Day 11/15/2006
Finally, I Can Say Something Good About Fox News 11/15/2006
No Home Movies! 11/15/2006
Something Peculiar This Way Comes 11/14/2006
Naysayers 11/14/2006
Boo-Hoo 11/14/2006
She Looked A Gift Pig Head In The Mouth 11/14/2006
Want This Channel? Ask Your Pets. 11/14/2006
Hey! Be Careful With The Duct Tape! 11/13/2006
Fine, Fine, Be Like That 11/13/2006
Apply Now, Or Maybe Not 11/12/2006
Serves You Right 11/12/2006
The Winner Is... 11/11/2006
Stops On The Tour 11/11/2006
Play Date 11/10/2006
New People 11/10/2006
How Did She Do That? 11/10/2006
Celebration Underway 11/09/2006
Doo Tell 11/09/2006
High Class Help 11/09/2006
Talkin' Turkey 11/08/2006
High Blood Pressure Alert 11/07/2006
Watchers 11/07/2006
You've Got To Fire That Friend 11/06/2006
Singing Lessons 11/06/2006
Egg No Rant 11/06/2006
You Know You Want To 11/06/2006
You, Too, Can Be Big Brother 11/05/2006
Shake Those Pompoms 11/05/2006
Into The Dark 11/04/2006
Don't Take Pleasure In The Troubles Of Your Enemy 11/04/2006
YAY! It's cleaning lady day! 11/03/2006
Let me Put In A Good Word For Procrastination 11/02/2006
Beating The Man Down Over The Issues 11/02/2006
Heartworm Medicine 11/02/2006
Disappointing 11/02/2006
Blogicide Here 11/01/2006

October:

Fixing Porque Choppe 10/31/2006
Red Hot Halloween Fever 10/31/2006
Paper And Pencil Election 10/30/2006
When To Skip Halloween 10/29/2006
Listen While I Bark About The Dog Park 10/29/2006
Courting The Dog Vote 10/28/2006
Choose A Better Target 10/28/2006
TIgers Just About Out Of Magic 10/27/2006
Literature Next To The Canned Soup 10/26/2006
Choosing A Costume 10/26/2006
Ripe and Juicy 10/25/2006
Plastic Politicians 10/25/2006
Growling At Politicians 10/24/2006
Speak To Me With Your Decorations 10/23/2006
Playdate With A Chihuahua 10/23/2006
That's not sewage, sir 10/22/2006
Please, Talk About Religion Or Politics 10/22/2006
A lady and her dog... 10/21/2006

Listen!

2006-11-17T09:01:00.000-05:00

Run, don’t walk, your fingers over the keyboard to click on this link. It takes you to Joanna Newson singing “The Sprout and The Bean”. Something horribly, charmingly, weirdly loveable and tuneful about this performance.

Good One

2006-11-17T07:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to see "Flushed Away". If you're at the mall shopping and need a sit-down break, this is good. Not great, but good. I enjoyed it and Benny and Sadie sat through the whole thing.

Thanks so much to those who keep clicking the link to my blog at HamptonRoads.com, the local newspaper. I'm trying to beat down a blogger who only posts about once every two months but still gets a zillion hits because his blog is about electronic games, a popular subject.

Slowly and surely with your help I defeated the blog which is a celebration of alcohol, the one called Bar Stories. That was a great effort. Love y'all. Keep on clicking. Now on target: the nonblogging games blogger. "Click at will, Mr. Sulu!"
Link in the post below.

HELP!

2006-11-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

I have a request of all you people kind enough to read this blog. Please go to my blog at the newspaper and check it out. I've just been doing it for a week and a half. The site stats come out soon and it's going to hurt my feelings to have a way low number of page views as compared with people who have blogged there for a while. All any of the bloggers will see is the numbers. Nowhere does it say, "Joanna's low numbers are because she has just a few days here as compared with everyone else's tenure in office." So please help me out by going to that site. Click on it a few times/day for a little while. You don't even need to read it. Click and run.

Here's the link.

On the list of blogs, click on "I SAW THAT".

Thanks.

More, etc.

2006-10-26T22:16:00.000-04:00

I started another blog, one under the auspices of the local newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot. Check out the truly splendid faux toe of Porque Choppe at the top.

The Clean, Lavender-Scented Domicile

2006-10-20T19:45:00.000-04:00

This was Leona's day to clean my house. She no longer employs the person assisting her last time. Today she showed up with three new helpers. She brought two of them indoors, took them over the house, top to bottom, instructing them what to do and what not to do. Carried in several buckets of cleaning implements and products. Then she and a third new assistant left for another house up the street. She whispered to me, "Please keep an eye on them. They're new." Hm.

I had things to do so I pretty much ignored them since I could hear them working upstairs, the vacuum going, etc. I tied little Porque on the porch since one lady claimed to be afraid of dogs; she'd been bitten.

After a while I took all my bedding out of the dryer where it was finally done. I carried it upstairs and left it on the bed, went back downstairs.

Mostly I worked on origami bats. I'm making white origami bats with red sequin eyes. Depending how a bat is folded, it can stand up, stand upside down, be in horizontal flying position. I was busy making decorations for the dinner here on Sunday evening.

After a few hours the ladies seemed to be nearly done. The one woman asked me where I go to church and when I told her I'm Episcopalian, she told me very sternly that I should obey the Bible where we are instructed to, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord." She added that she knows of scripture references which obligate us to dance before the Lord, too. She asked, suspiciously, "What do Episcopalians believe?"

I told her that Episcopalians believe pretty much what all other Christians believe, that our main difference is that we like a liturgical service, nice and quiet and restful.

Whacking the dust rag around wrathfully, she told me that this is not good enough. I need to put some energy into my worship or it isn't right. I told her that once I tried to visit a church with a three-hour service, plenty of noise and dancing, and it took me a week to recover. I've got to stick to the more soothing, quiet type of service. She shook her head admonishingly. Clearly, she thought I was about to go to hell because I attend a church where it's too darn quiet. She gave me a hard look and told me that her brother is pastor of a store-front church a few blocks away where people know how to do things right. She repeated the name of the church and added, encouragingly, that it's across from the hardware store. She thought of another good point, "It don' us'ally run mo'den' two oh free owuh." I replied, "Way too long for me." She looked disgusted.

After a while the hubub died down. The vacuum quieted. The ladies dragged all their stuff out onto the porch, then came back in looking uncertain. I thought they were waiting for Leona to come back and critique their work, so I told them to sit down and be comfortable...and I got diet Cokes for them.

Sitting there, both ladies told me horror stories about their physical and family problems. One woman has had so much surgery that she's a regular Frankenstein. More interestingly, she's lost 40 pounds and is still losing...and looks like she should continue along those lines for about another 100 pounds. The other lady told about awful trouble with rheumatism, broken bones that didn't heal right, pain and agony with each step she takes. Yeesh! I began to feel like Simon Legree, causing these folks to work and hurt themselves.

Finally, they stood up and left, telling me that Leona would return to get her cleaning supplies, but they had to get to their homes.

They were gone. The quiet was nice. The house looked good.

Shortly Leona came back. She looked around and blew up, "I knew it! Those two! Look at this floor!!! Look at the baseboards!!" Her helper ran upstairs and yelled, "They didn't make this bed!" The helper did that and some other things upstairs while Leona redid quite a bit of the other work downstairs. I paid Leona and she and her helper went home. That lady has a hard life. She works like few other people I've met.

Anyway, when everyone was really gone, I put pasta in the microwave, set a lavender-scented candle in the sink after running some water. I ate the pasta. The candle soon scented the entire house. Every surface gleams. It's all good. Ahhhhhhhh. I like cleaning-lady day.

Hold The Videos

2006-10-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

This morning for several reasons I watched videos which show the president making a fool of himself. At first I wondered if these were modified electronically to make Mr. Bush look really bad. For instance, there were three in which clearly he was drunk at press conferences. There were two where he was picking his nose almost up to his elbow. In a number of videos he did verbal bloopers. After a while it occurred to me that these videos span quite a bit of time. Then something else...I reflected that anyone caught on film as much as this man will surely be at a disadvantage from time to time. Finally, I found myself thinking that he's kind of a likeable guy, no pretense, none of that pompous ass stuff one finds so thick on the ground in the presence of politicians. He may be a corn pone, a drinker, a nose picker, a person who gets his tongue tangled, but he does laugh at himself. I had to quit watching in case what I saw influenced me to stop scorning the man.

The theme of each video was that President Bush is mentally defective. Hm...maybe so, but he's more likeable than John Kerry. God, please, don't let the Democrats pick another undead candidate like that. Such people may be worthy, they may be intelligent, they may not embarass us in public, but I don't like them. So, in the interest of electing Democrats next time, I hope these videographers give it up, stop, let it go. The thing is that even when he's being a dope, President Bush, in all these videos, comes across as a human being, not as a detestable blowhard. Watching him I got an Alfred E. Neumann-went-to-Washington kind of feeling, but it wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Kazakhstan, cont.

2006-10-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

Searching for info re. Kazakhstan, I ran across a blog by a fellow who has spent ten years working in Kazakhstan through a United Nations subdivision. He recorded several English-speaking people telling their experiences. Most made an effort to be PC. Two did not.

BREAD...One of those said that to the non-urban Kazakh, bread is almost a sacred substance due to the rarity of non-meat foods. There is no such thing as wasting even a scrap of bread, should one be lucky enough to get some. Living in the city, Almaty, she did have access to bread and each morning after breakfast, she fed bread crumbs to the birds outside her door in the street. Neighbors remonstrated with her earnestly that this showed disrespect for the struggles of Kazakh people some of whom never even get to taste bread. She ignored the rhetoric and continued to feed crumbs to the birds until one day when a peculiar chain of circumstances began with her strewing crumbs and ended with her going to a doctor to have her wrist stitched where she'd sustained a serious cut. The neighbors assured her that this turn of events was a judgement on her for wasting bread.

T P...Another speaker told of the shortage of toilet paper and warned that visitors to Kazakhstan should bring with them all the toilet paper they might need during their entire trip. On the one hand, they could possibly encounter a bit of TP, but likely not. In restaurants/hotels, none is in the bathrooms. When you want some, you must call down to the desk which might send up one small sheet off the roll, if they admit to having any at all. Most Kazakhs live out and about on the steppes, mobile with their herds. They have no indoor plumbing. For city people, the quest for toilet paper usually begins and ends with newspaper/pages of magazines and a waste paper can beside the toilet. Can't flush newspaper. Travelers to Kazakhstan are urged to bring with them a product called Urinelle, a funnel-like thing a woman can use to more easily access the hole-in-the-floor type of toilet common there. With this type of toilet, there may be no way to insert paper of any kind into the toilet, so, once again, travelers are encouraged to bring little one-sheet wipes to use as potty paper and then to carry away with them. How do you carry around used "toilet paper"? Well, travelers are instructed to bring lots and lots of zip lock plastic bags to use in keeping TP until there's an opportunity to dispose of it. What do natives use? No mention anywhere.

Make Do

2006-10-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

The Borat movie opens in about a week. Suddenly information about Kazakhstan abounds in the media. For people like me who consider the movie a spoof, this recent flood of info comes as a shock. Except in bigger cities, Kazakh food seems uniquely, horribly different. Kazakh natives eat mostly meat and they prefer portions which in the USA would never even make it into the grocery store. For example the head of a sheep, especially the brain. Another appreciated item; fried camel offal. Huh? Offal? Here you go: offal is the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal often considered inedible by humans. We're talking ears, noses, guts, genitals, organs, eyeballs, etc. Fried camel offal. Well, now. Here, for example, is a camel kidney looking like, like, like...a camel kidney.

These people eat the animals they have, which are horses, camels and sheep. They eat dairy products derived from horse, sheep, and camel milk. Without refrigeration anywhere along the way. And they sluice down their meals with vodka, which, the more you think about it, makes perfect sense. Women, the offal of the human race in that part of the world, drink tea, must face mealtime stone sober. Sentenced to a stretch in Kazakhstan, I, certainly, would lose weight. An Asian nation as one big spa, you might say.

On the one hand, it's admirable that Kazakhs do not sit around pining for fruit and vegetables, but make do with what they have...which is meat. On the other hand, oy.

Precautionary Principle

2006-10-17T02:06:00.000-04:00

The stuff still sitting on my porch after six uninterrupted weeks is there owing to my deference toward the precautionary principle. What it is, a person's got to question, "If I carry that laundry stuff we used at the beach back into my home laundry, what might be the result?" According to the precautionary principle, if there is no evidence to support the notion that something is harmless, then we should assume that the product is harmful. I could only know that lavender-scented laundry products would not trigger migraine in the neighbors if I went door to door and asked questions. Not having done this, I shouldn't just go ahead and swamp the neighborhood in lavender smell out the dryer vent. The precautionary principle applies the reverse of innocent until proven guilty to products, policies, and behaviors.

OK. I lied. That stuff is just on the porch because I don't want to carry it in. The box will probably still be there on the porch when I drop dead at some future time. I just wanted to use the words 'precautionary principle' in a few sentences. I finished reading Michael Crichton's book State of Fear a few minutes ago and he really does not like the 'precautionary principle', a concept I'd never heard of until reading this book. I've got to find a way to introduce those words in conversation soon. "The fact that you've made a practice of pottying your dog in my yard leads me to believe that you've applied the precautionary principle to the notion that allowing your dog to potty in your own yard will not result in your children picking up dog parasites through their bare feet." Something like that.

Brisk!

2006-10-15T07:38:00.000-04:00

It was chillier last night. I dug around in the closet and found two extra blankets which Porque and I appreciated. This morning at 5:00 A.M. Porque's potty trip outdoors beat even her suer-speedy trip yesterday. Now, this feels like fall up north. Except that up north they're experiencing unprecedented snow. Anyway the yellow mums on my porch and the India corn hanging on the door combined with the red geraniums on the steps, it all looks seasonal and cheery.

Another cheery thing is the kids/Lydia/Dan doing their annual migration to Disney for the pre-Halloween costume fun and, of course, to hit all the rides. Last year Benny was Dash Incredible. This year he's Buzz Lightyear and Sadie is Ariel, the little mermaid. Yesterday after lunch they put their dog in the kennel and left for a week of whooping it up. I'm so glad that Dan took time off. He does a wonderful job of providing for his family, works insanely long, frustrating hours. He needs to spend time just playing with his adorable little children and laughing with his wife. Lydia needs to get off the homeschooling mom treadmill which she takes very seriously.

This week I have three projects; to make Benny's 1607 outfit, to finish my Halloween chihuahuas, and to make dinner party decorations. The outfit for Benny is going to take a real wrench of my will to get off the drawing board. I do not like to do something for which another person made the pattern. Once I get started, though, it will be interesting. The Halloween chihuahuas...well...no pattern for that. I began the heads a while ago and need to get them done. Then I can just drape fabric below for the Dracula, the ghost and the witch.

Yesterday I started to get ready for my dinner party a week from tonight, the vegetarian club at my house. I began to make decorations...origami bats that stand up resting on their toes and wingtips. I decided to dress them up with bead and sequin eyes. They are quite cute. Here are online directions if you'd like to make some of your own....and, yes, it is someone else's pattern, but most origami is over my head without directions. I'd also like to do rats and moveable vampire fangs if I have time. Hunting for patterns, I ran across this darling little kids'-fold project which I'll try when Benny gets back home.

Thou Shalt Not Bark At Bikes

2006-10-14T15:19:00.000-04:00

Porque Choppe has mellowed considerably in the time I've owned her. However, she still barks savagely at bicycles. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the person on the bike. It's the bike. Today we were out and about for a while and Porque spotted two boys coming toward us on bikes. She launched a ferocious barking offensive. The boys stopped to ask about her. I took the opportunity to question whether they were in a hurry...they weren't. So I asked if they would mind riding back and forth past my house until Poprque stopped barking. They agreed to do this. I sat on the bottom porch step and held onto Porque's harness. In the other hand I had the end of her little nylon leash and when she refused to hush, I snapped her until she got the idea. After a while she calmed down and watched the bikes quietly. Then I asked the boys to get off the bikes and come over to meet her. She sniffed them suspiciously but wasn't hostile. It was a good first lesson in, "Thou shalt not bark at bikes." The boys promised to come back again soon to help give Porque another lesson. Very nice boys. Very naughty Porque.

Fireplace

2006-10-14T08:11:00.000-04:00

This morning when I came downstairs at 5:30 A.M., it finally felt like fall. Porque Choppe broke the land speed record for going potty outdoors, did a U-turn, and shot back up the porch steps and into the house. I turned on the fireplace in the dining room for the first time since last winter. That was my best home-improvement idea to date, gas fireplaces. It's not exactly cold, so no point in turning on the furnace, but it wasn't comfortable either, so the fireplace was just right.

You Never Know Until you Try

2006-10-11T07:46:00.000-04:00

This morning on the drudge report something I read sent me on a search which produced this information...The larva pictured is eaten by indigenous peoples of forested areas of Western Africa and South Africa as well as in the heavily forested areas of Central and South America. This occurs where it is possible to buy beef and pork as this larva is a preferred food although not always available...it has its annual season. When it is on hand, sales of beef and pork temporarily dry up while the natives enjoy their annual treat. I read that ounce for ounce it contains two thirds more protein than beef and one third more calories. The caterpillars are roasted until the skins become crispy and pop open. They are a finger food as you first have to brush off the little appendices before putting the rest into your mouth. Westerners who have had the nerve to try this item claim that it is delicious, having a creamy, buttery taste. The smell while cooking is highly appetizing. When you go to South America, plan to try this delicacy.

Also I read that there is a rising market in Asia for crickets as a protein increment of diet. They are fried and served atop salads. I saw pictures of cricket farms where crickets are raised year round and sold by the pound to restaurants.

Bottom line: I am reminded of the line in Scripture, "God has given us all things necessary to life and Godliness." And in another place, "Your Heavenly Father knows what you have need of before you ask."

We, in the West are fond of shrimp which, as Lydia points out, look just like insects. It's a world full of God's provision. We just have to be ready to accept what is placed before us. No, I don't need to accept worms, but I'm thankful for what does come my way in my situation. And I need to start looking differently at the ways God provides for me other than via food. Quite likely there are good things I'm not taking advantage of because of short-sighted prejudice.

High Water

2006-10-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

On Sunday Benny and I left church early, exited via the side door of the church hall. An usher standing there warned me, "Pretty high water." I wondered what he meant. Asked if there'd been significant rain while we were in church. He said that an unusually high tide brought the ocean up around the building; this happens a couple of times/year; as a child he'd lived across from the church and he always loved high water time although his parents didn't appreciate a basement full of brine. I looked out the window and sure enough, the street flooded up over the curb and into the park. So I took off Benny's shoes and socks, rolled up his pants. Since I wore old sandals, I kept them on. We waded into the water which at one point rose 2/3 of he way up to my knees. I drove very slowly and carefully, to Benny's disgust. He wanted me to create a wake like a boat. Benny thought it was wonderful that the church temporarily became an island. He said, "Wow. We're almost at the beach." I thought it would be comical to stick around and watch all the well-dressed people come out of church, remove their shoes and wade, but we had to hurry to the Art Walk.

No Trespassing

2006-10-07T20:00:00.000-04:00

Norfolk police do not have discretion to roust bad guys off your porch/out of your yard absent a clearly displayed No Trespassing sign. I made one featuring a drawing of the lovely Porque Choppe.

Clean

2006-10-07T08:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got up determined to exise from the floor anything which might prevent the cleaning ladies from doing their thing. So I went from this to that, removing, sorting, putting away. Someone once told me that when the cleaning lady comes, she first cleans house. I didn't do that, but I did spend all morning putting away and so forth. Then Lydia called to suggest a trip to Sam's Club. Lydia goes there once/month in order to cheaply buy those all-the-time items like paper products, cheese, kids' snacks, diet coke, bottled water, etc. Occasionally, I go with her.

It took about exactly three hoours. Sam's Club is formidable. I saw a lady who had run in to buy a tray of cupcakes and she was on her way out with the cupcake tray in hand...wow. That's the living definition of restraint. Unlike that worthy citizen, I bought a cart load of stuff; two bushel basket-sized yellow chrysanthemuns, cheese, printer paper, a pair of Tommy Bahama sandals, chips, Sharpie markers, South Beach high protein bars, and so on and so on.

Once back home, I got Benny situated in front of Noggin Channel on the TV and then the cleaning ladies arrived. They began upstairs. I could hear that bathroom getting a trip to the woodshed. Someone was spot-treating places on the stairway carpet. Lotta banging and thumping around in the front office. I tippy-toed up the stairs to see and Leiona's helper caught me. She said, "Where's Leiona?" I disclaimed knowledge. The lady got mad and began to slam bang things around. She said, "Well, then you get up here and tell me is this bathroom good enough so I can move along." What? Huh? A woman with issues. I soothingly remarked that whatever she had done, I was sure the bathroom looked better than it had to begin with. I went back downstairs.

Leiona came in the door with a big bag of cleaning supplies and a special reach-high duster she'd left at the last house they did. She went upstairs. I heard the angry woman. I heard Leiona's very sweet voice. The angry woman clumped downstairs and left. It sounded to me as if the bathroom job began all over again. Then the vacuum started up. After about an hour, Leiona came downstairs and began on the blinds.

I asked what happened to her assistant. She stopped working and told the sad tale. Leiona is a reach-out artist. She has a big heart for women with no hope and no chance to get up and out. However, she expects those she helps to show some sense. She now and then goes to one of the local homeless shelters to talk to residents, offer training followed by work. Every person she has ever helped in this way eventually falls off the work wagon. Said Leiona, "The last girl after a few weeks of showing up late or absent every day with endless excuses, finally just truthfully told me, 'I don't WANT to work. As long as I got a baby, I don't have to. They'll give me money to live. And I can always make another baby.'" Sadly, Leiona's present assistant is such a person. This woman has stuck with Leiona for a couple of months but she is troublesome on the job and frequently avoids the job. Always something. Last night her son had a problem that kept him out as a run-away all night and she stayed up to worry and today she was too tired to work. Like that.

I checked the clock. It was after 6:00. I said, "Well, I most certainly do not expect you to work here at this late hour. You've got to be exhausted. Why don't we just call this a day and you can decided on a time next week to come back and finish up?"

Leiona said, "No. I would rather see if I can finish today, if you don't mind. I think I can do it by myself. It will just take some time." When she said this, I kind of sighed internally thinking that she intended to merely hit the high spots. I had so hoped she'd do a deep cleaning this time, but I could not expect that in the circumstances.

Let me say that three hours later when Leiona left, she had done every window, baseboard, blind, floor, under each piece of furniture no matter what size. Also she'd shampooed the carpet on stairs and front office upstairs. Worse, she'd gone back to re-do what her helper did in the upstairs bathroom since it did not meet her standards. Leiona is one of a kind. She is a piece of work. I'm not going to put her whole name or her number on here because I don't want you to call her to clean your house. There's only one of her and I want that one to keep on cleaning MY house. I thank the Lord that I met her and that she agreed to put me on her list.

Now. We just have to get busy and find her some really good assistants, the kind who will not let her down. She pays entry-level workers $7.50/hr, so there should be no problem about the money side. Also she does all the necessary training and transportation and she works right with her helpers. If you know of a strong, healthy young woman who needs some income and who is willing to work for her money, please e-mail me. I'll let Leiona know. Another thing. If she had reliable helpers, she could do more houses...including yours. Seriously, y'all. Let's help Leiona find help. Next week I'm going to the Rescue Mission and to the Dwelling Place to talk to people there on Leiona's behalf to see if I can find some ladies for her to train. And, please, let me know if you know of a good candidate.

Leiona lost one helper who told her, "I can't do this kind of work. It's the same thing as enslavement. It's like going back two hundred years." This from a person living on the streets with no skills, education or income of any kind...a woman who had enslaved herself to poverty by a complete absense of good sense. Leiona, herself, has 7 years of higher education, but sees the cleaning industry as a way to earn money with flexible hours and control over her own work situation. The way she does the job elevates it to an art form. I really want to locate some good help for her.

Pain-In-The-Posterior New People

2006-10-06T08:21:00.000-04:00

Last night I actually slept for a while but at 3:00 A.M-ish was awakened by the sound of someone breaking a big pane of glass. I jumped out of bed sure that someone had smashed my windshield. Oh. Mz Edna parked in my drive last night. She does that sometimes and it's perfectly fine. However, I hoped that she was not now minus a window pane. Put on my sandals and went out to see...and to water the dog. Hm...no broken glass.

This morning I walked all over the place trying to see where someone broke glass. I guess all my windows are intact. What caused that sound?

Before I came in this morning, Mz. Edna came out ready to go to work. I told her about the sound. She confided that the new people next door are not working out to be good neighbors. Lots of night noise. According to Ronnie, they sleep all day and stay up all night. Last night they woke her a couple of times with sounds of loud crying. The first time it was a woman. The second time it was the small boy, howling loud enough to wake the neighbors at 4:00 A.M.

Well, I don't like them. The daughter is out and about at all hours up and down the street loudly quacking into a cell phone. Every time Mz. Edna's good looking great grandson shows up on her porch, this girl is out there up and down the sidewalk. The mother is never visible. The littlest ones play right beside the street. I saw them out with a basketball that was within inches of the busy street and no one was out watching them. The only time I saw the dad, I thought he was drunk. He was sitting on the porch floor with his back against the house, a bottle in his hand. Ronnie was out at the time and tried to introduce the guy to me. Fellow just made some sort of sneery-faced remark and then ignored me. According to Ronnie, the dad is just out of the military and hasn't been able to find work. At night over there it sounds like fighting drunks. Not good.

These characters just rent that house. The owners worked all summer to renovate the place really well. Did a beautiful job. Now these yahoos are in there acting up.

Porquetty Choppe-Chop

2006-09-30T17:31:00.000-04:00

Such a dear little sweet little fragment of dogge. I'm sitting here with Porque on my lap and she is easily encompassed with two of my not-very-large hands. Sweet little, good little dog. It is so much a part of life that she sits on my lap that today while I was away from home for several hours felt weird.

Poor Muslims. They can't have dogs. Maybe that's why so many are so angry. Each terrorist needs a small dog on his lap, nice and quiet and sweet. A warm little friend. Brings down the blood pressure. I would advocate sending Chihuahuas For Peace to the Middle East except that the precious little dogs might all get decapitated for nothing.

Plus and Minus

2006-09-26T17:36:00.000-04:00

Plus:
Beautiful warm, breezy weather recently. Not too hot, just lovely.
Minus:
Evil mosquitoes who descend on me in buzzing clouds every time I step out into my yard. I saw in the paper that over in Portsmouth some gov't entity is going to spray for mosquitoes. Forget Portsmouth. Try my house.

2006-09-23T17:58:00.000-04:00

Once in a blue moon something encouraging happens. Like today.

I know that some of you are aware that I've been fighting a little war with Food Lion over the issue of will they or will they not continue to provide shopping carts. The manager of the Food Lion at 2400 Colley has firmly declared that as long as he's manager, there will be no more carts provided for customers because customers steal them. As of a week ago Saturday the store was down to 17 carts, some of which are inoperable. The only way to shop there was to wait in the parking lot for a cart to come out of the store and then take it back in with you. Well, for me that was the last straw.

I don't have to shop there but I do it in order to support an establishment needed by so many people in the area who have no transportation. In spite of numerous wacko incidents there, in spite of having to wait in line behind people whom Harris Teeter refuses to serve because of their dependence on various forms of entitlement paper, I shop there week after week....but that thing about only 17 carts left was too much.

As a retired person it has been my mission to become a nice little old lady, to give up my bad old ways from the bad old days when I could write a white-hot letter and enjoy the job, could ream a new personal oriface for someone in need of one and not even break a sweat. That, I mean to tell you, is over. Haven't done anything like that since 2003. I even repented. But there was this problem at Food Lion. And I had had it. So back to the salt mine.

I wrote a letter. Then I went through all kinds of remorse. I shouldn't have done it. I should have just made up my mind to accept the fact that the store needed by so many was going to have to go out of business due to idiotic management. So guilty. Oy. At whom did I aim the letter? Food Lion Corporate Headquarters.

OK. Then today I needed to do my usual Friday run for weekend snacks. I decided to go back to Food Lion one more time. Oh, dear. No more carts than there were before. I had to carry around one of those little arm baskets, and it had just one handle. I got my chips, etc, paid, and then in a last ditch thing inspired by an overactive conscience, I asked the checkout girl, "Is the manager here?" I thought that if this was going to be my last time in the store, I wanted to say that to a live person. I'd written a letter, but I should have first have spoken to the recalcitrant manager for myself, eyeball to eyeball. I should not have accepted the word of his underlings.

The girl had a very odd look on her face but said, "The manager is on...um...extended vacation, but the assistant is back in the chips aisle. He's the guy with the bald head."

Lacking a cart, I took my groceries in hand and went on an assistant manager hunt. Finally found him heading away from me and I carolled out, "Yoohoo! Mr. Assistant Manager!"

We shook hands and made nice and then I began to get to my issue. Suddenly, but politely he raised his hand to stop me, "Ma'am. Someone wrote a letter to corporate headquarters and they have ordered 60 new carts for this store whether the manager wants them or not. The new carts were supposed to be here today but they'll surely be here soon and that should take care of the problem."

"Someone wrote a letter to ....." HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!Moral of the story; you may be a little old lady, you may consider yourself sidelined by life, you may not have any of your old gusto but.....

60 new carts. Oh, yes.

I'm encouraged. On behalf of the community, of course. I'm not going to let this seduce me back into my old bad ways. No, no. That is absolutely my last and final white-hot letter. And I guess I can repent again. Now it's absolutely official. I am going to be a nice little old lady. ;D

Entertainment

2006-09-20T06:29:00.000-04:00

Last night I watched part of a show called Jackass. A man ran himself into low-situated road signs, go up, did it again, again, again. Shockingly I found that funny. If nothing else points the way, this alone shows that I'm headed down the slippery slope into dementia. A few years ago I would have scorned stuff of this caliber. Makes me wonder if there's anything left that I would still scorn. I read book reviews about 'literary works' which I wouldn't touch with a lawn rake. Not that long in my past, that's all I would read, worthwhile tomes. Now the thought that a book may be worthwhile automatically puts it on the don't-read list. I have become a moron. I was supposed to be pretty smart there at one point, but that was then and this is now.

More Education

2006-09-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

I got up today still curious and read some more Islamic sites. Oy. Most sites say that the only way a Muslim may keep a dog is if that dog is necessary for farming or for hunting and then the dog may not stay in the house and if the dog licks you, you must wash yourself numerous times because a dog is even farther down on the no respect list than are pigs. Muslims, however may keep a cat for a pet. It is common about the time of Ramadan that Muslims want to clean up their act and many of them who have slipped and got a puppy for the kids will take the dog to the pound to be put to sleep. In fact this is so common that even very strict Imams have said that this is a scandal that makes for bad public relations re. Islam in the West, that animals must be treated well, i.e. get the dog a home with a Christian.

Gradually the light dawns. When I went to bed last night I was so confused about this religion. Why there are so many converts. Now I think I understand. This is Religion For Dummies. Every last speck of life is prescribed and frequently proscribed as well. It isa narrow, narrow life with no choices at all. If you just follow the umpteen, detailed rules, you will get to heaven. Every single thing relating to food, every single social situation, all matters relating to how both men and women must spend their working time, all family relations, every last fragment of possibility having to do with leisure time, all aspects of education for both sexes, exactly how to perform each necessary religious duty, it's all there with no room for doubt. For those who learn all of this but who still manage to have questions, there are the Imams who exist simply to lay down the law.

The world is full of people who find it too hard to BE something although they are willing to do anything they are told to do. Islam is for them. Christianity tells you what to BE and you must work out for yourself how to go about becoming that person. Islam is easy. Christianity is hard. Islam is for those who like to be told what to do, who like to follow orders, who do not want to discover, to explore, to struggle.

One Imam site complained that in the eyes of the non-Islamic world, this is a religion of those who have not been educated very well and/or who have a pretty low IQ...and he agreed. He said that this is pretty much true, with exceptions who have kind of a hard time living the life and frequently run afoul of Islamic law. What you almost never see in sites where Muslims ask an Imam for advice is this question..."Why?" Where asked, sometimes there is an answer rooted in middle eastern history and culture, but usually not. Usually the answer is just that Allah knows best.

Westernized Arabs get pretty good at invoking all the Muslim excuses for doing things they aren't allowed to do, like "necessity". Some Muslims are ashamed of the hadiths and say that the religion should consist only of whatever is found in the Koran but that won't work. Only in the hadiths do they find HOW to practice the religion. Some highly educated Muslims try to live by their understanding of the "spirit" of Islamic law but that doesn't work either because the hard-liners hate these people at least as much as they hate Christians.

Educational Experience

2006-09-18T20:19:00.000-04:00

I have spent an educational day. With all this hoohaw over angry Muslims making the Pope apologize, I decided to read their sacred writings. I read the Koran a while ago but most of Islamic practice is based on 'hadiths', which are words of various important Muslims from long ago. This is where they get the pray five times/day thing and the Ramadan thing etc. So today I sat down determined to read these hadiths, at least the most famous ones.

1)One of them described Muhammed as the most beautiful human ever born and then went into detail among which it said that his nose was so long that he nearly got it wet every time he drank anything, his shoulder joints stuck out but his hands and feet were 'chubby'.

2) Another one told about travels in the life of Muhammed including an episode where he was under the protection of some fellow who was responsible to get him from point A to point B and that involved being away from a food source for a few days. So this man amazingly breast fed him.

3) Then there was an interminably long one explaining 'temporary marriage' which is confusingly similar to prostitution. Muhammed warmly recommended it to his followers, told them to be sure they didn't come up to the end of their lives having missed it. "You should enjoy them, and they should get their payment. It is a rental." This, unlike plain old fornication, does not get you stoned to death because the woman is compensated. Permanent marriage is also a money transaction since the husband must provide a dowry up front.

4) Lots of them explain what happens before, during, and after death for all kinds of people. When you're just about to go, the devils line up on one side of you and the angels line up on the other side. The devils are very excited and they are all black with hair down to the ground and fire coming out of their eyes and they're waving around whips made of fire. At the last second, you can see them, which inspires some people to make a split second conversion right at the end. Of course the angels don't seem very appealing either, "With bodies like insects and very thin from so much worshipping." Everyone is resurrected and Muhammed's mother, at the time of her death, was too shy to die because everyone is resurrected naked, so she got a one-person exemption from that. Muhammed gave her his shirt to wear in the resurrection.

5)The Imams are kind of like Islamic Popes, supposedly every word they speak is straight from God and they can't sin. An Imam will be the last person on earth left standing because God always has one available in case someone needs guidance. Imams know all, they even know when they're going to die and how it's going to happen. You must accord an Imam the respect you'd show to God. On one occasion someone disrespected an Imam and Muhammed made that person's entire village line up while someone came down the line dousing their mustaches with the liquid from a camel's stomach.

6) Hadiths about marriage explain why it is not necessary to marry a female slave. Also, they make it clear that a young woman can be married if her father consents whether she consents or not. To divorce a woman, a man says to her, "I divorce you," three times. If he's unable to talk for some reason, he may communicate his intentions with an appropriate gesture, but that wasn't specified. A woman can't divorce a man. A man can have up to four wives at one time as long as he's able to support them up to the level of her family back home. So much is said about prohibiting a man from marrying his mother that I wondered if that was a problem at one time in that part of the world.

Anyway, you can read it for yourself by going to this site... http://www.shiacode.com/

Two hours later...I seem to have kept on reading this material. In fact I branched out and read a lot of sites by people who converted to Islam. Then I read an enormous site by Islamic authorities who answer questions from Muslims all over the world about what can and cannot be done by a Muslim.

1) A Muslim woman may not pluck her eyebrows, can't cut the hair on her head, but she must remove all body hair.
2) Muslim women must stay indoors. May only go outside if there is actual necessity, not for fun or to go visit friends, etc.
3) It is encouraged, recommended that Muslim extended families live together. A man only HAS to leave his childhood home after marriage if he is wealthy and his wife insists that he provide her with her own home. If he isn't rich, is merely middle class, he's got to provide his wife a private bedroom and bathroom separate from the rooms the rest of the family ever use. If he's poor, he only has to provide a private bedroom. So a woman marrying a man who isn't rich can expect to spend her life with her mother-in-law if that's what her husband wants.
4) A Muslim woman is not supposed to look at or to speak to men other than her husband. If she has to talk to a man other than her husband, she's supposed to use a loud, harsh voice and only speak what has to be said for business reasons, meanwhile keeping her eyes on the floor.
5) Muslim female education is mostly about the Koran. If a girl wants to be educated beyond this religious instruction, she first needs to spend at least three years in strictly religious training to protect her from non-Islamic influences she'd meet outside the home. Girls who do go to school should be taken there by a father or brother and then picked up by these family members, no riding public transportation or driving themselves. There are some well educated Muslim women, but these women should be able to prove necessity. For example if a woman has no men in the family to take care of her and no prospect of marriage, she can say that she's got to get an education so she can support herself.
6) Muslims are not only forbidden alcohol, no dancing, no kind of Western entertainment, they may not listen to music at all. On the question and answer site, a man asked if it would be OK for him to listen to tapes of someone reading the Koran if there was a musical background to the voice and the answer was that NO, he couldn't.

The more I read, the more I do not understand those who convert to Islam. People raised in that culture may not know anything else. However, to voluntarily go from a life of freedom to a narrow little tunnel through life, why would anyone choose that? The interesting thing is that there are lots and lots of converts. I read quite a few sites where people recounted their conversion experience, how they did it in spite of being shunned by family and former friends.

Fed Up

2006-09-18T14:10:00.000-04:00

Pre-9/11 I guess I didn't spend much time thinking about Islam but since then, I've given it some thought. I read the Koran as well as numerous texts which purport to explain the teachings of this religion. Those who say that Islam is a peaceful religion are misinformed. All you have to do is to read the Koran. It's very clear. Followers of Mohammed are told to kill anyone who does not share their belief. Muslims will tell you that the real meaning of jihad is an internal struggle in the soul of the believer, a fight between one's good and bad impulses. That may be one interpretation of the word, but it's primary meaning is a real killing-people kind of war where Muslims kill unbelievers. In spite of the fact that I've read their religious texts and in spite of the fact that I understand the clear meaning of these texts, I have tried to maintain a benign attitude toward Muslims. I've told myself that they surely can't believe every detail of their religion.

Well, then this thing came up where all around the world Muslims are ranting and raving about how the Pope has to be executed and suddenly, I'm through pretending that Islam is OK. It's not. Overnight I got fed up. I don't think the Pope should apologize. He was absolutely right. This morning I read in the paper that a nun was nurdered and many churches were damaged. The Pope could only do his usual Sunday prayers under heavy guard. All around the world everyone is scared to death to do or say anything likely to annoy a Muslim. Why? Because theirs is definitely a violent religion. They really, no kidding believe they should kill everyone who disagrees with them. While I have always believed that anyone has a right to believe anything he/she wants to believe, I'm not sure about that as of today. I don't think anyone does have a right to believe that he/she should kill those who disagree with him/her. To make that OK, you'd have to say, "People have a right to be insane," which, of course, they do but in a padded cell. You know what? When you want to know what people believe, watch how they act. Right now, this world-wide bloodthirsty talk, this bombing churches and shooting at nuns, that is proof. Very violent religion.

A long time ago Salmon Rushdie got in trouble with Muslim clerics over something he wrote and he spent years afraid all the time that someone was going to kill him. Well, I thought that was crazy, but at least it was a family fight. I mean, it was Muslim versus Muslim in a fight over an instance of disrespecting their religion. Since then Muslims have come all the way out of the closet. They don't just kill dissenters within the religion, they've taken on the whole world. Everyone everywhere is scared of them. And that makes me mad.

If a big, mean dog came growling and slavering after you from behind, most people would run. Not me. I had that happen once. A German shephard rushed out after me, barking and threatening my ankles. Rather than run, I turned around and ran at the dog, screaming and swinging my purse around and around. To my sruprise and relief, the dog ran away from me. These Islamic bullies, hoping to scare the world into submission, have got us all running and afraid. I think it's time for the civilized world to turn around and chase the bullies, purse swinging, yelling, determined to believe and say anything we please whether they like it or not. Americans are not persecuting Muslims, not burning Mosques. Muslims are doing that stuff to Christians and Jews. Time for them to get a well-deserved beat down. Enough already.

They've got to accept that not everyone wants to or is going to live like they do, think like they think. It's all well and good to engage in dialogue in order to enlighten all parties to a disagreement. Dialogue, however, is not appropriate in a case where the only violent party to the conflict will not listen to anything but his/her inner sound track repeating, "Kill the Christians. Kill the Jews." We can't have a battle of ideas with people to whom a holy war means blood and bombs.